Aatrox

Don is humanoid in shape, with a pair of long, sharp horns resembling those of an antelope. 💥💥 🎃💞

He didn't have Zhao Xin's superb Martial Arts, but his powerful impact and undefendable Dark Element Strength made up for these shortcomings.

My body is now basically immune to the erosion of Dark Element Strength; I just need to be careful of the impact of dark energy.

Similarly, Don's body is much stronger Eugenis's, and I can't easily pierce him. I can't win unless it's an attack of the level of Wind Slash.

But I was afraid that using Wind Slash would kill Zhao Xin directly, so I hesitated. Just then, Don used his killing move first!

He thrust his spear straight at me, and I easily dodged his unremarkable move. But then a antelope-like figure charged at me at such a speed that I had no time to dodge!

After being struck by the shadow, I felt my internal organs churning, and when I looked down, I saw that I had indeed been stabbed twice!

Although it was just a small shadow, this shadow impact was even more powerful Hecarim's!

However, I didn't panic. Since I was already injured, there was no point in creating distance now. It would be a huge loss if I didn't get something in return!

Having just dodged Don's spear, I realized he wasn't far from me. I twisted my body in mid-air and thrust my sword, imbued with the force of the Wind Force, into his back. We both fell to the ground at the same time.

To my surprise, his Antelope Shadow didn't disappear; after piercing through my body, it turned and crashed back!

And so, Don began to focus on recovering from his injuries, while I could only endure the pain and dodge the antelope's attacks.

When will this end? I can't keep struggling with this shadow forever, can I? How can I break free from it?

Martial Arts, Wind Force, and even Spiritual Power were all useless. In the end, having no other choice, I decided to continue attacking Don. Only by defeating him could I break the deadlock!

This time, I didn't care about showing any mercy; I directly turned the Gale Sword into nothingness and slashed at it!

Don managed to hold out for a while, but couldn't withstand my relentless attacks and finally revealed a weakness.

But just as the blade was about to strike his shoulder, a strong aura of darkness rushed towards me, slowing my attack.

In that split second, he reacted and swept his spear away, throwing me aside.

Immediately afterward, the Antelope Shadow crashed into me, leaving two more holes before disappearing. It seems Don has also reached his limit.

Just as I was wondering where the dark aura had come from, a person walked over from not far away.

He was a powerful figure with wings on his back, a pair of demonic horns on his head, and a terrifying giant sword in his hand— Aatrox.

The moment I saw him, a wave of despair washed over me. In my current physical condition, I was no match for him.

"War Aspect, we meet again."

"You've come at just the right time, Aatrox."

"Oh? You inherited Pantheon's memories?"

"No, but I recognize you, whether you're the Arbiter Paladin Aatrox or the Vastaya Blademaster Aatrox."

"Hahaha... So you are Yasuo. I've heard about you from Bai Juen. You're a mortal who can enter the Ascension Realm—no, now I'd say you're a god."

"So now, do you want to duel with me?"

"Now? Do you think you still have the strength to defeat me?"

How will you know if you don't try!

I got up again and took a short break during the conversation to recover. My wound was still emitting black smoke, but I wasn't about to collapse.

→

"Don't try to be brave. You were hit by Don, so you can't use your full strength for now. I'll find you once you recover!"

"Unexpectedly kind."

"Mercy, I think I should really think about the meaning of that word. Let's go, Don."

"Wait, Lord Aatrox, I have a few words I'd like to say to him."

Aatrox was about to leave when Don came up to me and transformed back into Zhao Xin:

"You defeated Yasuo, and now I'm fulfilling my promise. You asked me what the Vastaya's purpose is? I'll tell you, it's for freedom!"

"Freedom? Do you have to kill people to free yourself from your shackles?"

"No, we are not fighting for our own freedom, but for humanity."

After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he followed Aatrox and left. They didn't take the opportunity to kill me; instead, they wanted a fair duel.

Zhao Xin's words kept echoing in my mind: The Vastaya fight for humanity? That's absurd!

I remember Syndra saying something similar before, about protecting Runeterra. I thought she was just teasing me, but I didn't expect Zhao Xin to say something like that too.

But considering the methods they used, their purpose became irrelevant. Killing for human freedom is no different from Mordekaiser's world of death.

I dragged my injured body back to the Kinkou Monastery. Kennen immediately healed me. Shen had returned, and this time he and Akali worked together to successfully kill a Vastaya!

"Even you lost, Yasuo?"

"I suppose so, but I could have won, it's just that guy's accomplice arrived, Aatrox, I told you guys before, and now he's here."

"The most powerful Ascended? Perhaps the most powerful Vastaya right now."

"Also, you know that Vastaya wielding the spear; he's possessing Zhao Xin."

"Who are you talking about?!"

"Zhao Xin?!"

"What?!"

Kennen, Shen, and Akali stared at me in surprise, but quickly calmed down.

Now that Zed has been resurrected, it's not impossible for Zhao Xin to be resurrected as well. It's just that some things are hard to face because of what happened in the past.

At the same time, I thought of Irelia. She likes Zhao Xin. If the two of them were to meet, would it be a heart-wrenching battle?

Thinking about it now, it seems Riven also has deep feelings for Zhao Xin. After all, I was Zhao Xin when we first met. Could it be that she feels the same way now?

In the end, I rejected the idea because Riven knew about my past, and she liked me, not Zhao Xin.

Even after learning my true identity, they still wanted to come back to my original world with me.

Memories flooded back: our encounter in the Northern Plains Basin, our reunion with the Wind Sword Sect, drinking with Darius, our journey through the far north, our exploration of Piltover...

Her smiling face, her clumsiness, her drunken state, and her determination are all imprinted in my mind.

In the year we spent together, we explored almost every corner of Runeterra, a journey that was both arduous and fulfilling...

No, I can't keep reminiscing about the past. The more I do that, the more stagnant I become. I used to like to lecture her, but now I've changed my mind!

Since she chose darkness, I will follow the light and walk our own path. Whether we meet or not, we will eventually understand each other!